MARQUETTE, Mich. — Two brothers from Nigeria pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually extorting teenage boys and young men in Michigan and across the country, including one who committed suicide, a federal prosecutor said.
Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, of Lagos, Nigeria, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sexually exploit teenage boys, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement.
The crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, Totten said, and a maximum sentence of 30 years. No sentencing date has yet been set.
Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves persuading someone to post explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public unless the victim pays money or provides sexual favors.
The Ogoshis were accused of running an international racketeering ring in which they posed as a woman that resulted in the suicide of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay of Marquette, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on March 25, 2022. The two men were charged with accused of getting DeMay to send a nude photo of himself and then blackmailing him.
The Ogoshis, who had previously been extradited from Nigeria to face charges, were taken into custody by federal marshals after pleading guilty.
“These convictions will send a message to criminals in Nigeria and all corners of the world… we can find you and we can bring you to justice,” Totten said in a statement.
“I hope these guilty pleas will also bring some small measure of relief to the family of Jordan DeMay, who died as a result of this crime,” he said.
“I always had faith that they would find out who did this to Jordan,” DeMay’s mother, Jennifer Buta, told WDIV-TV.